2010: The Top 20 Canadian Techs (so far) This Year

2010: The Top 20 Canadian Techs (So far) This Year

2009 was a year of recovery for the worldwide markets, and Canadian tech stocks were no exception. Led by DragonWave (TSX:DWI) which began the year as a TSX Venture stock and ended with a full big board listing and a share price in excess of $12, there were several techs that gained over 300% last year. We’re not quite halfway through 2010 and the TSX is trading right about where it was when we began the year. No stock looks on pace to match DragonWave’s or Sensio’s (TSXV:SIO) performance of last year, but if you owned any of the following twenty issues you would not be disappointed. Our list is headed by a familiar face; check out our May issue for an interview with Dr. Sankar Das Gupta, Chairman and CEO of Electrovaya.

Listed: The Top Percentage Gainers from the TSX and TSXV Technology, Cleantech and Life Sciences Sectors. December 31st, 2009-May 21st, 2010

1. Electrovaya (TSX:EFL)
May 21st, 2010:$3.60
December 31st, 2009:$.83
+333%

So what’s behind the recent run-up in Electrovaya shares? The long answer is a more than a decade’s worth of pioneering work and 150 patents on its lithium ion battery technology. The short answer is Chrysler. On March 24, Electrovaya announced that it had been selected by Chrysler to supply the battery for a hybrid version of the Dodge Ram pickup. The Company also appointed former Chrysler CEO (and Windsor Ontario native) Tom Lasorda to help guide them through the process.

2. Craig Wireless (TSX:CWG)
May 21st, 2010:$.69
December 31st, 2009:$.21
+229%
Craig took off in March after it was announced that The Company was selling one quarter of its wireless spectrum licences for $80-million to Inukshuk Wireless Partnership, a joint venture owned by Rogers Communications and BCE.

3. Cipher Pharmaceuticals (TSX:DND)
May 21st, 2010: $1.23
December 31st, 2009:$.50
+146%
Shares of Cipher leapt in January after The Company received a favourable judgment in patent lawsuit regarding a new drug application for CIP-Tramadol ER, which is used for the management of moderate to moderately severe chronic pain.

4. Aptilon (TSXV:APZ)
May 21st, 2010:$.24
December 31st, 2009:$.10
+140%
Shares of Aptilon, whose web based products allows healthcare marketers to reach and interact with physicians online, more than doubled after the company completed aggressive acquisitions valued at more than $30 million.

5. Stem Cell Therapeutics (TSXV:SSS)
May 21st, 2010:$.395
December 31st, 2009:$.175
+125.7%
It turned out to be a short lived run for shares of Stem Cell Therapeutics. On May 26th, The Company released Results from NTx-265 modified Regenesis-phase IIb stroke trial. The results showed the drug was not statistically significant from a placebo group. The results more than erased the gains the stock had made for the year, closing at $.08 cents on May 27th.

6. Espial Group (TSX:ESP)
May 21st, 2010:$.96
December 31st, 2009: $.43
+123%
Since September, 2009 Espial has enjoyed a slow steady rise on the back of increasingly interesting orders for its IPTV Software, including one to China’s Jilin Cable Network, which is expanding its on-demand services to its user base of three million subscribers.

7. Aeterna Zentaris (TSZ:AEZ)
May 21st, 2010: $1.84
December 31st, 2009: $.85
+116.5%
Shares of Quebec based Aeterna Zentaris doubled after and U.S. regulators granted fast-track approval for perifosine (KRX-0401), an oral treatment for colorectal cancer.

8. Theralase Technologies (TSXV:TLT)
May 21st, 2010:$.81
December 31st, 2009:$.415
+95.2%
On January 5th, Theralese released results of a preclinical study it planned to submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada. The Company claims its patented photodynamic compounds (PDCs) when used with Theralase lasers, destroys breast cancer cells.

9. Bioniche Life Sciences (TSX:BNC)
May 21st, 2010: $1.08
December 31st, 2009: $.56
+92.9%
After posting its first ever quarterly profit, in Q2 of 2010, Bioniche, which, makes product for both human and animal health, has enjoyed a strong year. The Company credits a July, 2009 licensing agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals for exclusive rights to develop and market Urocidin, a drug that treats bladder cancer, in North America.

10.Isotechnika Pharma (TSX:ISA)
May 21st, 2010:$.295
December 31st, 2009 $.165
+78.8%
Shares of ISA perked up after its new drug application for voclosporin, which is currently being investigated for the treatment of psoriasis and for the prevention of organ rejection in kidney transplant patients was accepted for priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

11. Allon Therapeutics (TSX:NPC)
May 21st, 2010:$.56
December 31st, 2009:$.32
+75%
Yet another company that took off after being granted fast-track status from the United States Food and Drug Administration. This time, it’s Allon Therapeutics lead neuroprotective drug candidate, davunetide, a drug created for the treatment of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rapidly progressing and fatal degenerative brain disease.

12. Cardiome Pharma (TSX:COM)
May 21st, 2010:$7.99
December 31st, 2009: $4.66
+71.5%
The reporting of excellent Q1 results in mid-May sealed a tremendous first half of 2010 for Cardiome, a Vancouver based company that makes drugs to treat or prevent cardiovascular diseases. The Company’s revenue for first quarter 2010 was $23.0-million, an increase of $22.8-million from $200,000 in first quarter 2009.

13. Resverlogix (TSX:RVX)
May 21st, 2010:$4.09
December 31st, 2009: $2.42
+69%
Shares of Resverlogix rose after a Bloomberg BusinessWeek article on March 5th speculated that the company “may accomplish what Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drugmaker, couldn’t: Creating a new medicine that fights heart disease by raising so-called good cholesterol.”

14. Cortex Business Solutions (TSXV:CBX)
May 21st, 2010:$.38
December 31st, 2009: $.225
+68.9%
Calgary based Cortex, whose products enhances the exchange of business critical documents, such as purchase orders, receipts and invoices, has had an active 2010, with a couple distinct exclamation marks thrown in. On February 17th, The Company was halted at .38 cents before announcing a deal with Basware and Apache Corporation to automate Apache’s invoice processing for its North America operations. The Company used this momentum to close a $7 million private placement at the end of March.

15. Bennett Environmental (TSX:BEV)
May 21st, 2010: $2.35
December 31st, 2009: $1.40
+67.9%
A bit of a turn-around story. In early 2004, shares of Bennett, which uses thermal oxidation technology to remediate contaminated soil and contaminated construction debris, were going for more than $27. The stock feel to pennies in late, 2008, but the company was improving. Revenues leapt from just over $8 million in 2008 to over $28 million in 2009.

16. Gennum (TSX:GND)
May 21st, 2009: $7.50
December 31st, 2009: $4.56
+64.5%
After a four year tumble, which saw shares of the Burlington, ON based semiconductor innovator fall from over $17 to under $4, 2009 was a consolidation year for Gennum shares. In 2010 the turnaround appears to be in full swing; its Q1 2010 revenue of $29.5-million increased was a 53 per cent increase over the Q1, 2009.

17. Zarlink Semiconductor (TSX:ZL)
May 21st, 2010: $1.43
December 31st, 2009: $.89
+60.7%
Ottawa’s Zarlink, which designs designs mixed-signal semiconductor products, began to climb early in 2010 after their Q3 2010 numbers exceeded guidance. The Company is steadily improving top-line numbers and gross margins.

18. Tembec (TSX:TMB)
May 21st, 2010:$1.97
December 31st, 2009: $1.28
+53.9%
Tembec, a Quebec based forestry company that is part of the TSX’s Cleantech index, improved its balance sheet with the sale of two of its French pulp mills and benefited from rising global pulp prices.

19. Innergex Renewable Energy (TSX:INE)
May 21st, 2010: $8.25
December 31st, 2009: $5.50
+50%
Also based in Quebec, Innergex, which develops, owns and operates run-of-river hydroelectric facilities and wind energy projects, began to rise after February 1st, when the company announced that Innergex Renewable Energy and its income trust arm Innergex Power would merge.

20. Guestlogix (TSX:GXI)
May 21st, 2010: $1.35
December 31st, 2010: $.91
+48.4%
Late in January, Guestlogix reported its FY 2009 results. The much improved numbers, 2009 revenue of $18.6-million, was up 119 per cent year over year, helped The Company graduate to the TSX from the TSX Venture Exchange a month later. The Company kept its double digit growth into 2010; its Q1 revenue of $6 million was up 50% from the same period in 2009.